Complete Noob!

purplesun525

TPF Noob!
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Nov 15, 2011
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kansas City MO
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ok, so im new to this site. I own a Canon XT Dslr and love it. However, There are so many settings i get overwhelmed. I have always loved photography and wanted to do it forever. I actually wanted to go to school for it but my parents refused to pay for the schooling because they didnt think it was a "real" career, it was a hobby. So here i am at 29 trying to learn my camera and feeling completely overwhelmed. I just purchased the new corel paint shop pro x4 (cant afford photoshop) and love it, however im still trying to teach myself how to use that as well. My two main focus's of photography are landscape and portrait. I would eventually love to get into storm photography. If there is anyone local (kansas city) that would be willing to teach me a few things that would be great. Im a hands on and visual learner, reading a book doesnt get me far unfortunately lol. Any help would be greatly appreciated, right now im shooting on the setting with the green box lol. I know i know, i should know what setting im on and i dont, thats how lost i am at the moment.
 
Some friendly advice, get over your fear of reading. Start off by reading what is probably the most boring reading you'll do, the camera manual. Once you feel comfortable with it, then you can move onto books that actually talk about photography and are more interesting. There are also plenty of online articles that are shorter and therefore more digestible than books.

You need to first learn about exposure. Shutter speed, aperture, ISO. What other aspects of the image do they affect beside exposure? Your camera manual will probably cover these to some extent. Also, Google is your friend.
 
Do what you would do with any subject "X" you want to learn about: go to the library and take out a book titled "Introduction to X". I know you said you don't like to learn by reading, but there really isn't any way around it here because there is a lot you need to know. Otherwise you will be trying different things and not understanding why a lot of them don't work. Inevitably you will learn a lot by trial and error, but at least try to be reading at the same time.
 
I would just echo what the others have said, get over your fear of reading - quickly. It will take you 3 or 4 times as long to "learn by doing" than it will if you read your manual as you work through the controls on your camera, and then some basic photography books and practice with the books as you learn. Get the latest version of Digital Photography for Dummies (don't laugh they are good as introductory books) and work your way through it. Then you can start looking at specialty books on landscapes and portrait photography. Like any other practitioner, you need to learn all you can about your tools - your camera and lenses - before you start specializing - keep notes on your pictures, review the EXIF data for each image. Every once in a while, post a few images for feedback. This is the only way you will get on with it, because if you wait to find someone who will teach you, well - I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you, but on the other hand, join a local photography club and participate in its activities with the members - you may find some folks there willing to give you pointers. Alternatively, check to see if the local colleges give evening or weekend courses in photography. A lot of them in my area do just that - give a course that runs for two or three weekends or meet once a week in the evening for 2 to 3 hours over a period of a month or two and then have some sessions outdoors so you can practice what you learn in the class room. HTH.

Cheers,

WesternGuy
 

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